One Last Dance: A Seventh Year Story (04)
by lone astronomer
Summary: Aloha! This fic's almost strictly L/J, and it's the entire seventh year. It's easy to understand, even for those who haven't read my AU. All ya gotta know is that Peter's dead! Happy reading.


One Last Dance:

A Seventh Year Story

Disclaimer: You know it belongs to J. K. Rowling. You know I am _not_ J. K. Rowling. Need I say more?

Author's Note: Nobody reads this, I declare myself way too lazy. Not only for the peeps who've read all of the series, 'A Hundred Thousand Mirrored Futures,' but for L/J fans everywhere! All you need to know is that Peter's dead! (Why do I sense this will get me more readers?)

Summary: Seventh year… half of it was written LATE at night, I take no responsibility for that half… Do you like romantic fluff? I like it too. Do you want to join my support group? Good. 'Cause there's almost no action in this piece. No Dark conflict. Do you hear me? FLUFF, I say. FLUFF!!

Author's Note II: Do you all watch the Red Green show? Are you obsessed with duct tape? I like duct tape, too. Would you like to join my duct tape support group?…

* * *

__

Another turning point, a fork struck in the road

Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go

So make the best of this test and don't ask why

It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right

I hope you had the time of your life

So take the photographs and still-frames in your mind

Hanging on a shelf in good health and good time

Tattoos and memories and dead skin on trial

For what its worth, it was worth all the while

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right

I hope you had the time of your life

-Green Day, _Good Riddance _(That was my grade 8 graduation song; my science teacher played it for us and it's on the grad video too. Sometimes when I'm caught off-guard and it's playing I just can't help but think about the good old days in Canada…)

* * *

Part One: The Beginning of the End

Somewhere in London, a great whistle blew. This was no ordinary whistle, heard by no ordinary people, and had no ordinary purpose. This was the whistle of the Hogwarts Express, heard only by witches and wizards in the vicinity, used to bring young witches and wizards to the school of magic known as Hogwarts.

Two such wizards flopped down in an empty compartment, waiting for their friends to arrive. These two wizards were called James Potter and Sirius Black. (A/n: and so ends my Rowling impression. Whaddaya think?)

"Who do you reckon we lost this year?" Sirius asked his friend tiredly, in an uncharacteristically gloomy voice.

James required no clarification. "I'd love to tell you no one, Sirius," he answered in the same tone, "but we both know it's only wishful thinking." The killings of Muggle-born, mixed-blood and Voldemort-opposed families had dramatically increased over the past few years, becoming more and more frequent.

Just at that depressing moment, the door to the car swung open, and in stepped three young ladies and a tall, serious-looking young man. The tension vanished, smiles broke out, and everyone was bathed in a sea of greetings and well-intentioned jabs.

"Sirius," Allya observed, trademark grin in place, "it seems you've put on a bit of weight over the summer." She grabbed his stomach, tickling mercilessly. 

"Oh… no… please… stop," Sirius managed to gasp between fits of hysterical laughter. 

"Leave him be, Al," the significantly-deeper-than-before voice of Remus Lupin said, the visage grinning.

Ally pouted. "You're just jealous," she teased, and everyone sensed the sarcasm.

"Too true," Remus played along. "Come over here and grab my stomach, will you?"

The dark-haired girl across from them laughed- this was life as she remembered it. And this life was nearly over. "Our last year," Mioré said at length with a sigh. "What'll we do when it's over?"

"I'd rather not think about it," Lily answered in a somewhat Trelawney-like stupor, gazing out the window. Her thoughts wandered through all of her previous years- her first encounter with Hagrid, meeting James and Sirius at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters… James, hitting James, kissing James, falling into and out of love with James… she snapped herself out of it. "It's all a load of malarkey," she mused aloud.

"Huh?" Sirius looked confused.

"Did I say something?" Lily asked, wondering if her mind was that far gone.

"You just declared your undying love for me," James answered. "Again."

Lily promptly pulled out her wand and gave him a magical wedgie.

Mioré sighed. Everything, for better or for worse, was back to normal, all right. Or, at least as normal as things ever got around Hogwarts.

Part Two: First Conflict, First Signs

Surprisingly, it was nearly Halloween before James and Lily had their first big row. In the Gryffindor common room, at around noon one Saturday, Lily screeched, "James Potter!" She was staring down at her Charms essay, which was six rolls of parchment long and signed in neat, immaculate lettering, _Lily Potter. _Needless to say, Lily was not pleased. 

Sirius looked up from his Divination homework, pleased to see his good friends acting normally, which is to say, like toddlers, again. If there was one thing Sirius loved, it was Trouble with a capital T.

"Yes, dear?" James answered back without raising his head. Lily swore colorfully, the type of curses (verbal, not physical) that she used on James only. And occasionally, the rest of his family. "Whoa! Calm down, Sparky, I'd hate to see you sent to Azkaban on account of my 'suspicious' death…"

Steel glinted in Lily's emerald green eyes. "You aren't even worth the aggravation, Potter."

Although he was ready for it, the words hurt. He covered it with a grin. "That's not what you said last night."

He was, quite properly, slapped, and the irate Lily marched up to the girls' dormitory, followed closely by an amused (although distressed) Sirius.

"He doesn't mean it, you know," Sirius said, sitting down on the bed beside an enraged Lily. "He's only teasing."

Lily studied him for a moment before declaring, "You're not supposed to be up here."

Sirius brushed her off. "That's what they all say." He leaned in closer, as if about to tell her something of vital importance. "Do you know what I heard today?" he asked, dark eyes dancing in the low light.

__

Why do I have a bad feeling about this? "What?" Lily asked in the same whisper.

"I heard that you and Jimmy get to go to the Halloween dance together tonight, as you're Head Boy and Girl. Which, by the way, you _neglected to mention_." Lily looked absolutely aghast and furious at the same time. Sirius grinned and continued, "I mean, I understand why James didn't tell anyone- just think of his reputation!" The look in his eyes now indicated how absolutely tragic it was that James' reputation was 'ruined.' "But what about you? No one even knew you were Head Girl until McGonagall posted notices for the seventh-year ball yesterday."

Lily growled something.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"Figured people would lump us together again if we had to share a title," Lily ground out, looking mutinous. Sirius just grinned and got up to leave; Lily followed. "You know, that bit about no one knowing who Head Girl was…"

"Yes?" Sirius prompted.

"Not true," Lily said, opening the door and preparing to throw James' best friend out. 

"Really?" Sirius said. "Who'd you tell?"

"Well… I couldn't let Potter think he'd bested me, after all…"

Sirius' jaw worked, vocal chords attempting to produce an 'a-ha!' or a similar I-told-you-so sound and declare Lily's love for James to be renewed…

The look on his face was priceless. Lily laughed and slammed the door in his face.

The annual seventh-year Halloween ball was not held in Hogwarts with the other years. In fact, it was something quite different- in a field near Hogsmeade, under the stars, moon, clouds, or whatever happened to be in the sky at the time, be it snow, rain, sleet or hail. Floating decorative lights lined the ground and hovered at shoulder-height, giving a surreal cast to the entire area.

James and Lily had decided not to meet until they were at the 'dance hall'. This proved awkward for both of them, as Sirius had gone with Mioré and Allya with Remus, they were left alone and ended up in a carriage together anyway, as Head Boy and Girl were strongly encouraged to share (much to their annoyance). 

"Well, Bighead Potter, are you just going to stand there or are you going to assist your escort out of the carriage?" 

Lily's biting sarcasm was lost on James, however, and he extended his hand, saying, "My apologies, Mrs. Bighead Potter."

Lily pointedly ignored his gesture and jumped down from the carriage on her own, careful not to step in any mud. "Come on, then, James," she said. It was nearly the first time she'd used his proper name all year. "A-dancing we shall go."

"Think we can beat Ally and Sirius' swing-dancing exhibition?" he asked.

"No," Lily answered, "But I'll be damned if I don't even try."

It was Allya and Remus who were on the 'floor' when they arrived. The 'floor' was actually a huge black marble slab bewitched to look like the sky above. With all the stars out, it really did appear as if they were dancing through the sky. 

"Wicked," James breathed.

"Very cool," Lily agreed. Another first for that evening.

Sirius and Mioré, who were just finishing their hors d'oeuvres, after-dinner hors d'oeuvres, but still hors d'oeuvres, sneaked off to somewhere, a bag no doubt filled with tricks on Sirius' back. "Why do I have a bad feeling about them?" Allya asked Remus, looking over his shoulder.

"'Cause they're Mioré and Sirius," Remus answered, "and if there's one thing they've got enough courage to work on together, it's…" His words trailed off and his eyes fixed on two more of his friends. Seeing a way to divert her attention from an uncomfortable subject, he said, "Unless, of course, they're too late." _I hate lying to her, _he realized. _The reason you're not worried is that you know exactly what he's doing_.

But James and Lily chose that moment to break out their fighting voices.

"I didn't!"

"You di- oh, never mind," James gave in. "Let's just _try_ to get along and enjoy ourselves, okay?"

Lily snorted. "Enjoy myself? With you?" James looked a little hurt to her expert eyes. "Just kidding… at least with you it won't be boring. I can't even begin to describe the horrors Mioré experienced with Amos Diggory…"

James laughed and they finally took to the floor like a couple of professionals.

"Now that is the way things are supposed to be," Allya said an hour later, watching Lily and James flick pumpkin seeds at one another. "And just when I was starting to lose hope," she added sarcastically.

Remus snorted. "I gave up last year already." He looked again at his two friends. James must have said something again, because Lily was chasing him around the dance floor with murder in her eyes. "And can you blame me?"

__

I'll get him for that one, Andrews thought fiercely, taking off after James Potter. Somehow, during their pumpkin seed fight, he'd managed to turn her hair purple without her noticing.

"Relax, Sparky!" James called back, laughing as he wove between a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw. "It matches your robes!"

Lily pulled off one of her shoes and threw it at James' head. She missed, but hit him somewhere else. 

"Ow!" James exclaimed, and started running faster before she could throw the other shoe. 

She threw it anyway, but missed and hit a Slytherin in the face.

"Sorry!" Lily called, almost caught up to James now. Suddenly, her stocking feet lost traction on the slippery marble, and she lost her balance, toppling onto the floor. "Ouch."

The next thing she saw was James' face above her. He extended a hand. "You okay?" he asked. He seemed genuinely concerned.

Well, she'd change that. "Yeah," she said, accepting his help with her right hand. 

One tug later, and both of them were laying in a heap in the middle of the dance floor. 

"Ouch! You landed on me."

"You ninny, you're the one who pulled me down."

"Well, I thought you were better at crashing than this!"

"Ha! _I'm_ comfortable. Therefor my crash was perfect."

James Potter and Lily Andrews didn't move for a minute- they lay there in the middle of the dance floor, just looking up at the stars, or anywhere but at the other. Lily even forgot the uncomfortable presence of James' head on her stomach for a while. A moment more, and a brilliant flash lit up the sky.

"Fireworks?" Lily asked. She raised her eyes to the sky once more and James did the same.

"So that's what Sirius was up to," he muttered.

She laughed. "Happy Halloween, Remus," and they clinked their wine glasses- filled with pumpkin juice- together.

Remus just grinned at her, taking a sip from his own glass, and returned incredibly nervous eyes to the sky. It was almost midnight- almost time…

The unexpected bang took Allya's mind away from her drink, and she too turned her eyes upwards to see the words written in the stars.

REMUS LOVES ALLYA

"Happy Halloween," he returned into her ear.

Ally happily reclined into his arms. "Yeah," she said, "I love you, too." They kissed, and at that moment another firework- the last one- shot up into the sky. When it exploded in a perfectly magicked pattern, it made an international symbol of love between the cosmos.

And if one looked into the floor that reflected the sky at just that moment, one would see that it surrounded the pair sprawled on their backsides in the middle of the marble slab.

"That was a night to remember," Allya acknowledged, laying by the fireside in Remus' arms. "I wish the happiness could last. Dark times are coming… I can feel them."

Remus planted a kiss on the crown of her head. "Everything will turn out all right in the end," he assured her, knowing that this assurance was empty and that Ally could probably See whether or not everything would indeed be all right. "At least we have each other. After all, what are good friends for?"

"Hear, hear," a very drunk Sirius declared. He and Mioré had gotten a little happy with the celebration of their perfect Kodak moment and brought out the brandy.

Mioré burped loudly, attracting strange looks from everyone but Sirius, who was laughing. "Good 'un."

"What are we going to do with them?" James asked, nursing a bruise on his leg.

"A more appropriate question would be, what are they going to do with themselves tomorrow, when they have headaches the size of elephants' arses."

"I almost pity them," Remus said, tightening his hold on Allya again. "Almost."

Part Three: Stress, and All it Entails

It was a cold evening towards the end of November. Sirius, Allya and James had detention- Filch was furious with them for catching them in the act of dying Mrs. Norris purple. James seemed to have an odd obsession with purple at the time. Remus had begged McGonagall to let him serve a detention, too, just to be near Allya, but McGonagall thought he was making fun of her and actually refused. Lily and Mioré were studying in the Gryffindor Tower, wondering if they couldn't hold the NEWTs off for longer so as to study more.

"Stupid Snape Sr. and his stupid Potions essay," Mioré griped. "Stupid McGonagall and her stupid study sheets… stupid Flitwick and his stupid charms… stupid James, stupid Remus, stupid, stupid-"

Lily finally lost her patience. "You're PMSing, aren't you?"

Mioré glowered. 

Remus interrupted the tense moment by bouncing jauntily (and in a very Sirius-like way) into the common room through the portrait hole, grinning until he saw the murderous looks on his friends' faces. He put his arms up over his head in a cross and backed away slowly.

Mioré's expression changed once she saw him, though. "Remus! Do come over here and help me with my Defense Against the Dark Arts homework…"

Remus looked at Lily. "Why do I feel like I want to run away?"

"Stress!" Lily yelled, turning a page in her Charms book rather quickly and accidentally tearing it out. "She's stressed and she's not in the best mood, her brain is overloading and she doesn't have _half_ the things to think about that I do, and my Transfiguration mark is down half a percent from the end of term last year and-"

"_Impedicum dientus_!" Remus finally said, and Lily's mouth was covered with duct tape. He reached over and peeled it off quickly, so that it wouldn't hurt as much. "Slow down," he said. "Nobody can understand what you're saying."

"Sorry, Remus," Lily apologized. "It's just that I have _so_ much homework…"

"Who doesn't?" Remus asked. He and Allya had even less time to do his homework than everyone else, because when the moon was full, they were out of capacity for three days.

"Point," Lily conceded, adding her name to her Charms essay and praying that six feet was long enough. She double-checked to make sure that it _didn't_ say 'Lily Potter', which- thankfully for Remus- it didn't, and resumed her conversation with Mioré.

"Anyway, as I was saying- _He-Whose-Name-Must-Not-Be-Spoken_ is getting less tolerable every day… and the number of times he's suggested improper things to me-! It's outrageous-"

"Lily," Mioré and Remus began at the same time, "he's only human."

Mioré added when Remus was finished, "And a male human dealing with puberty, at that."

Remus grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, "No, that was last year."

Lily and Mioré thought it best not to ask.

In detention, Sirius and Allya were busy cleaning the torture devices in Filch's office. Sirius stood before a particularly foreboding one- a wall-mounted rack for stretching bones and skin until it snapped. "That," he said, making sure James was far out of earshot, filing paperwork like he was supposed to be, "looks like something our dear old Lil-bug would just _love _to bestow upon Prongs."

Allya snorted. "The little you know, Padfoot, my friend."

Sirius regarded her coolly. "You're not saying what I think you're saying- they _hate_ each other."

She just laughed at him. "You're incredibly naïve, Sirius."

"Am not."

"Are too," Allya insisted, making use of their punishment to explore the hidden back room to Filch's office.

"Am not!"

"Are too." Ally quickly closed the closet door she'd opened, pretending she hadn't seen the Iron Maiden therein. "Filch is one sick-minded janitor," she commented, holding in one hand an old-fashioned chastity belt.

"How many different ways can I say, 'ew'?" Sirius asked. "Yuck. Gross. Disgusting. I don't even want to kno- _this_ has _possibilities…_"

Allya shoved it back into the closet. "You're sick." 

Christmas was fast approaching- the list of students staying for the break was posted outside the Gryffindor common room. Although almost no first through sixth years were staying, there were several seventh years-

Students Staying the Christmas Break

James Potter

Remus Lupin

Sirius Black

Mioré Lancaster

Lily Po Andrews

"You're sure you're not staying?" Remus asked Allya somewhat disappointedly the day before she was to leave.

"I'd love to," she said, meaning it, "but there's a ski competition in Switzerland that has my name on it…"

"Skiing," James muttered from the corner. "Horrible, Muggle sport."

"_I_ like it," Allya insisted, throwing her gloves, hat, scarf, ski suit and goggles into a pile. "Although not as much as I like Quidditch… never mind. I'm going to bed now. Must be up early tomorrow to catch the Port Key out of here."

Everyone said good night, and so only James, Sirius, and Lily were left in the common room. "Poor Remus," Lily mumbled sleepily. "Two weeks without Ally…"

"Aw, you know she can't stay away that long. Mark my words, she'll be back by New Years, even if it's only for romantic effect."

Christmas morning, the chill in the room woke Sirius first. Actually, it was his biological alarm clock that got him out of bed at ten past five in the morning (it only did this on Christmas and his birthday), and he wasted no time in rousing the other residents of his dormitory.

"Rise and shine, sleepyheads! It's Christmas day!" Bouncing on a rather grouchy Remus' bed was probably not the smartest thing he could have done at ten past five on Christmas morning. The stuffed dog (christened 'Fluffy' in a rather cruel joke involving Remus and a three-headed canine) flung at Sirius was testimony to that. Sirius was rather surprised that he'd even thrown it, although chances were that he had no idea what it was and had thrown the first thing he could get his hands on. It was a gift from Ally- all the boys had them: Sirius' was a Newfoundland, James had a stag, and Allya (in a perceptive use of tact) hadn't gotten Remus a wolf, knowing how sensitive he was about his lycanthropy, but had given him the cutest puppy she could find. Apparently Remus seemed rather mild and harmless to more than a few select individuals.

"Go away, you noisy brute," James growled, pulling his pillow over his head.

"But Jamie! You haven't opened your gift from Lil-bug!"

James was wide awake in a heartbeat. In fact, he hit his head off of the bedpost and cursed colorfully. "Wha-at? Don't _scare_ me like that, Sirius!"

Sirius tore through his gifts in about ten seconds- mostly books about pranking, pranking materials, and candy- then rushed off to the girls' dormitory to rouse his female friends.

"Oy, Remus," James said, peeling the wrapping off of a beautiful oil painting of a stag, "Who d'you reckon sent this one? I don't see a card."

Remus smiled to himself. He knew exactly who had sent it. "No idea."

"Remus…" James warned. He had only just noticed that it was signed, _Remus Lupin_ in one corner. "Tell me!"

"Can't," Remus said, unwrapping his own gifts. "Promised I wouldn't."

"Damn," James muttered. "Well, on a less profane note: Shall we go see what Sirius is up to?"

Part Four: Surrender, and Promises Made

They entered the girls' dorm to find Sirius sitting on Mioré's bed, handing her present after present from a sizeable pile. They arrived just in time to see how red she turned when she opened a pair of purple underwear from her younger brother, which she quickly hid under her pillow.

"Morning, all," Remus said, cheerily for the time of day. 

"'Morning, Remus," Lily said, ripping the wrapping paper off of the last gift and looking at it.

__

It's gorgeous, she thought. In front of her was a watercolor unlike any she'd ever seen- a single lily laying on a table outside in the sun. "Anybody know who sent this one?" she asked, rummaging around in the paper for a note or some kind of card.

"Haven't a clue," Remus lied. Actually, he and Ally had worked in collaboration to send the two works of art- he'd been giving her lessons.

"No ideas here," James put in. "You wouldn't know who sent mine?"

"Wouldn't know, wouldn't care," Lily said stiffly and without emotion.

James flinched.

Sirius cleared his throat, trying to ease the tension a bit. "Well, since we're all up and it's too early for breakfast- who's up for a game of Exploding Snape?" (SNAPE, not SNAP, SNAPE.)

Later that evening, snow fell softly outside and the wind howled.

"Hope Allya's not out in that," Remus murmured mostly to himself, gazing off into the distance.

"Remus, you twit," Sirius said, having overheard, "She's in Switzerland. They're bound to have different weather there."

Remus put on his 'Lucius Malfoy' voice. "I'm her lover. I'm allowed to be worried."

Sirius grinned. "Can I have that in writing?"

"No."

"Damn."

She sat there, just looking at it as if it were going to bite her. She knew it had significance, she knew something was up… _'You wouldn't know who sent mine?'_

Damnit. They were doing it to her again.

At approximately six thirty in the evening on December 31st, a slightly wet, slightly exhausted, and slightly windburned Allya Jade Nightrunner appeared in the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room. Somehow or other, a ward on the Floo network requested a password, which she had but to think to be let in. 

__

Nobody here, she thought, surveying the room. Peering out the window, she noticed her group of friends in the courtyard having a snowball fight. With a grin reminiscent of Sirius', she grabbed her wand to dry herself off, then hightailed it down the stairs and outside.

As everyone was rather involved in the snowball fight (or rather, watching James and Lily duke it out), Remus didn't notice the wraith behind him until it was beyond late. The shadow creeping steadily along the ground in front of him may have tipped him off, however.

At the very last second, he spun around and gathered Allya into his arms. "Surprise," Allya choked out, needing to breathe. 

"No kidding?" Remus asked sarcastically, silencing any reply with a deep kiss. They were lost for a handful of moments, and nothing existed except the two of them, arms and all the soft down their winter cloaks surrounding them, until Sirius cleared his throat loudly- twice.

Neither of them looked suitably embarrassed, much to Sirius' disappointment. 

It was at this moment that a very fat snowball, thrown by James, landed in the midst of the other four. He must have enchanted it, because the moment it hit the ground it exploded into many pieces, each one drenching a different someone in turn. Lily's hit the ground shortly afterwards, and everyone was thoroughly soaked. 

Except for Lily and James. So it happened that Mioré, Sirius, Remus and Allya ganged up on the future Potters, surrounding them on all sides. James and Lily finally collapsed in a heap on the ground, beaten.

"I surrender," James said, waving a hand in the air. He turned to the redhead. "Do you sur- surren… surren-der… Lil?" His words seemed to slow down and nearly stop as he encountered the emerald green eyes for what felt like the first time. "Lils?"

Lily seemed almost as inarticulate as he. "Yeah," she said, feeling a bit lost as she gazed up at him. _Damn those eyes… and the dimples, too_… '_How much longer are you going to fight this?' Do shut up. _"Yeah. I surrender."

"Should old acquaintance be forgot…" The piano and violin duet was only slightly off-key, but nobody really knew the words. "Damn. Does anyone know what comes next?" Lily asked.

Allya balled her hands into fists and banged her head on the keys. "No."

Remus took his chin off of the violin, too. "I give up. You people couldn't carry a tune in a bucket."

"Thanks," James said, taking the chestnuts out of the fire again. "Ouch- they're ready." 

The friends gathered around, lounging in the chairs closest to the source of heat. "How much longer to go?" Allya asked, suppressing a yawn and reclining on Remus once more. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her in closer, snuggling into her hair.

"Mm… five minutes," Remus said, his breath tickling her ear. She sneezed, sending up white and green sparks with her wand, which was out for some odd reason. She looked back at Remus and winked.

He smiled, "Oh, look, everyone," Remus said, raising his eyes to the ceiling. "Mistletoe! Grab your favorite partner…"

"That sounded bad."

"Shut up, Sirius."

"I've got my partner," Allya grinned, folding her own arms across Remus' over her belly. "Shall we all snog on midnight, then?" 

It was becoming very apparent that Lily and James weren't saying a word. Sirius and Remus exchanged looks. "Dear Mioré, would you be so kind as to be my partner?"

Mioré colored nicely. "But of course, darling." The sarcasm she injected into 'darling' was mostly lost on Sirius.

Still nothing from James or Lily.

"New Years' resolutions!" Remus suddenly exclaimed. _I can't believe we forgot the spirit of New Years!_ "Everyone has to make a New Years' resolution," he explained. "An improvement on themselves from the year before. It's not New Years' without it!"

"That so?" Sirius asked. "Well- I resolve to… to… to get as many detentions as humanly possible and still graduate with honors."

Mioré laughed. "You call that a resolution?"

"I resolve to practice skiing more. Last place stinks."

Remus laughed. "I, personally, resolve to laugh more."

Everyone was quiet a moment. Mioré finally broke the silence, "I resolve to be less stressed-out!" 

"Hear, hear," Remus muttered.

And James and Lily were silent. 

"Five… four… three… two… one… Happy New Year!" 

On cue, Allya and Remus found themselves locked in a tight embrace, lips together, fingers intertwined. Even Sirius and Mioré shared a short kiss, and none of them noticed that James and Lily still hadn't said a word.

__

I resolve, Lily thought to herself, _to never, ever fall in love again. It hurts too much._ She couldn't even look at him when everyone else said, 'Happy New Year.' _How am I supposed to be happy this way?_

Although Lily could not find it in her heart to look at James while she made this declaration, he found it simple to look at her. Except for the fact that when he did it, she tore his heart out all over again. _Thus, I will never give up trying to make her love me. I couldn't. I can't let her go._ A single tear slid down his cheek- before Sirius could become uninvolved with Mioré again and notice, he swiped it away. Getting up, he planted the tiniest kiss on Lily's cheek while she wasn't paying attention, said goodnight, and walked slowly back up to the boys' dormitory.

Lily watched him go, completely bewildered. Nobody else even noticed the tears that gathered in her eyes, and she fled.

Part Five: A New Years' Gift- Only Human

Sirius' New Years' prank became known to the world only a few hours later. New Years' Day, as the students who stayed the holidays made their way down to breakfast. It wasn't actually a prank so much as a decoration- all of the statues, knights, pictures, and portraits were framed in gold and silver ribbon, with seemingly decorative lilies and festive reindeer. Neither James nor Lily dared to comment.

Lily sat down to breakfast, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and rehearsing her New Years' resolution over and over in her mind. She tried hard, Lily Andrews did, she's been granted that much, but she nearly broke when she found the stag pendant on the silver chain hidden under her napkin.

__

There she examines it… there she swallows… now she'll look up, in about two seconds- I'd best look away- James Potter suddenly found himself very interested in the breakfast selection and began helping himself to some toast and bacon. Sure enough, in exactly two seconds' time, Lily's attention turned to him, systematically shifting over each and every person present, wondering who had sent the gift.

__

Allya? Surely not… Sirius wouldn't think of it… Remus might, Mioré could have… James… James would have. Once upon a time. Lily picked up her napkin and blew her nose, wiping off tears at the same time so as to keep them well-concealed. _'Can't drop that mask, can you?'_ a voice taunted. _Oh, _Lily thought, _do shut up._

"I saw that," Sirius said to James as everyone left the Great Hall.

"Saw what?" James asked in a seemingly innocent manner. "Saw- _oh._"

Sirius sighed loudly, pulling James into the room behind the portrait of Sir Cadogan. "Yes, 'oh.' 'Oh,' Indeed. You're in love with her again, you twit! What's wrong with you, Prongs? _Tell her_."

James opened and closed his jaws for a moment, thinking. "Ever think of taking your own advice, Padfoot?" Sirius, about to grin in triumph, was interrupted by James. "And I'm not in love with her again." _'The word is 'still,' Sirius.' Oh, do be quiet._ "I'm not," he said aloud. "I just… wanted her to have something to remember me by."

Sirius snorted. "I'm sure that'll be a comfort when she's eighty and has no grandchildren to look after because you _abandoned_ her, Prongs."

The silence in the room could have filled the entire castle. "Do be quiet, Sirius," James finally managed. "I'm not completely heartless, you know."

Sirius snorted again, this time with a trace of disgust. "Tell that to Lily," he said simply, and walked away.

James was left with a feeling somewhat reminiscent of being kicked in the stomach. _'Yeah,' _the little voice inside his head told him. _'Tell Lily.'_ He swallowed a huge lump in his throat and bit back his despair- somehow, he had to do it, too. 

Part Six: And Whether Pigs Have Wings

Winter trudged on somewhat reluctantly- January passed, as Januarys tend to do; and February, then March, all in perfect order. All was in perfect order, one could say, except the rising and crashing emotions of several seventh years as they frantically (well, some of them frantically) studied for their NEWTs. 

Easter break passed- Lily could be seen in her dorm, staring blankly at the watercolor of the lily on the table and noting how, each day, a new layer of depth seemed to be added. She didn't quite understand it, but it was quickly becoming the most beautiful thing she'd ever laid eyes on. 

__

Except for James.

"Shut up!" she growled out loud, hurling her Transfiguration textbook across the room with an unexpected violence. "Shut up!" And, just when she was least expecting it, the tears came.

"Lils?" Allya poked her head into the room, surveying the damage- only an overturned lamp this time. Lily hid her tears. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Lily lied, hoping in vain that her voice wouldn't betray her.

Allya, however, was far too smart for that game. "Yeah, right. Are you ready to talk about this yet?"

Lily shook her head 'no' in shame, watching the tears fall unchecked onto her Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook. Allya, then, just sat beside her on the bed while Lily cried out all of her frustration. "I promised myself," she finally said, "never to fall in love again."

Ally almost smiled a little. "You haven't broken your promise, Lils," she whispered, hugging her friend a little tighter. "I have it on good authority that you never stopped loving James."

Lily thought about Allya's words for a very long time afterwards, sitting in the dark, but she finally decided that Allya could not be right. At least, not unless pigs could fly.

"… this year's Head Girl, Lily Andrews!" 

At Dumbledore's words, the crowd broke out into applause, and Lily, quelling the nervousness in her stomach, stepped up to the podium. "Time," she began. "You can change it, with a lot of bother, you can spend it, waste it, you can use it wisely. But you can't make it stand still." Some of the butterflies died when she reached the end of her introduction. "'The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things.' Among these many things lay our futures. Professors, parents, fellow students and graduates… this day marks the end of our formal education. But let us not forget that, formal education or no, we'll never cease learning. Learning to get along, learning how to fend for ourselves, and, when pigs fly, perhaps we'll even learn to love before the darkness takes over and the time is up.

"Seven years we spent here- seven years that could not be better spent, excepting perhaps the times we spent in detention for sneaking Dungbombs into Mr. Filch's office." Lily gave a meaningful glance in Allya and Remus' direction, and they winked at her. The crowd laughed a little, and even Mr. Filch almost smiled. "In those seven years, the Dark Lord has gained a lot of power. The time has come to recognize this fact." She exhaled softly- almost done, she told herself. " 'The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things. Of shoes, and ships, and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings. And why the sea is boiling hot…'" Lily's emerald eyes lit on James for her last few words, "'And whether pigs have wings.' Ladies and gentlemen, I give you this year's Head Boy, James Potter!" The dignified applause normally heard at graduation was more akin to cheers- Lily had to smile as James stepped up beside her. _Whether pigs have wings…_

James, being a big-shot Quidditch 'star' at Hogwarts, was a little more prepared for the crowd. In fact he was not worried at all that his speech could never top Lily's- she was eloquent in a way he could not be. So he wasted no courage on his speech. He'd need it all later.

"Seven years come and gone," James said. "I still can't believe it- two hundred detentions, and I'll never have another. It seems like only yesterday we were roaming the halls, either trying to avoid Mrs. Norris or turn her some obscene shade, like hot pink or ochre." The audience grinned. Little did they realize that the charm he and Lily had worked on them was turning them purple.

Beside him, Lily pasted the same mock-serious 'you-can't-know-it-was-me' look on her face. "James, that _was_ yesterday!" The crowd howled.

"Oh yeah! But tomorrow's not far off, and the future is now for a lot of us." He looked out at his audience. "Ladies and gentlemen… the graduating class of 1983!" 

As he and Lily returned to their seats to wait out the rest of Dumbledore's speech, the applause threatened to deafen them. Lily grinned at James- "Good show," she mouthed.

"You, too," he returned, reaching his seat- the very right of the foremost row, where Head Boy and Girl sat traditionally. Everyone else was in alphabetical order. Dumbledore seemed to be taking his jolly time, and his eyes twinkled more than ever. Especially since he was having a hard time not laughing- how many years had it been since he'd had a captive violet audience, anyway?

"…Zambini, Trish!" That was it. The last one. "Parents and fellow teachers, the Hogwarts graduating class of '83!" 

The hats- the ones that had been worn all through the Hogwarts days- flew, and all the graduates stood- all save two. James looked genuinely nervous and had his hand on Lily's arm. "Lil-bug?" Her emerald eyes searched his face- she hoped this was what she thought it was… "I have to ask- will you-"

Poor James never even got the chance to finish.

In the crowd of students, Ally caught Sirius' eye and winked. She didn't even have to say it out loud, for Padfoot said it for her- 

"You told me so."

THE END…?

lone astronomer: Well, I'm sorry for the incredible sappiness in this one-shot. It didn't start this sappy… but then my Muse got up in the middle of the night and wrote the rest while I was tied up in the closet. My Muse and I don't have the best relationship.

MUSE: You're telling me.

lone astronomer: _Anyway…_ as always, reviews are appreciated, and I need opinions on names for the Marauders' children… nothing that rhymes, please, that is just cruel! 

SIRIUS: Maybe you should apologize for your incredibly sucky speech now, LA?

lone astronomer: Oh yeah! I would like to apologize profoundly for the way I botched Lil and James' speeches, but speech-writing has always been something that I actually _rehearse_ in real life, and not something I only write. Usually I spend more time on them, too. Long story short, last time I had to write a speech was two years ago, and I was so nervous about saying it in front of four hundred students that I said it so quickly no one understood a thing. Of course, that has nothing to do with speech-_writing…_

JAMES: Would you look at that! She's rambling again! Take note, son…

HARRY: Yes, sir! '_Incredibly strange fan-fiction author "lone astronomer," frequently caught daydreaming…'_

HERMIONE: That's not Harry! That's Rita Skeeter!

RON: Augh! Run!!!

RITA: Wait! Can't I have an interview? Just let me get my quill-

EVERYONE EXCEPT LOCKHART, ESPECIALLY JAMES: Aaaah!!!

LOCKHART: Why, certainly my good lady! 

RITA (AKA SQUISHY the BEETLE): Aaaaahh!! ::runs into something sharp and dies::

EVERYONE: Yah!!


End file.
